Finding Balance: My Life as a College Golfer

When I first started my golf journey, I had no idea how much of my life it would consume – and transform. Playing golf in college was not even a concept that crossed my 6-year-old mind. Yet, fast forward to my teenage years, and there I was playing junior golf competitively in hopes that a U.S. college coach would find an interest in me.

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Ultimately, I was very fortunate to be recruited by my dream school – one that aligned with both my academic and athletic desires. Those four years as a college athlete ended up being some of the most pivotal and rewarding times of my life; they opened doors and allowed me to build connections with people who I otherwise would not have crossed paths with. 

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However, I did not know that being a college athlete also meant undergoing the ultimate tests of commitment, dedication, time management, and sacrifice. 

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Week in and week out, we had to step out of our comfort zones and approach challenges with a solution-focused mindset. Practice, tournaments, and workout schedules were demanding, so we had to figure out how to best balance those elements alongside school, social life, and sleep. We had to learn how to maximize our productivity levels both on the course and off the course. We had to plan ahead of time and effectively inform professors about potential scheduling, homework, and exam constraints. We had to prioritize our goals and objectives to be reliable, dependable, and trustworthy teammates, while also simultaneously pursuing our own needs. 

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Of course, it was not easy to manage all of this, but I was able to gain priceless insights and important life skills that I continue to value to this day.

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Here’s a quick peek into what it meant for me as a college athlete.

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The Seasons: Fall and Spring

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As a NCAA Division 1 college golfer, I had to dedicate a significant portion of my weeks to the sport. The golf season typically happens in both the fall and the spring: the fall would approximately last from August to late October, while the spring would approximately last from February to late April. Because we won the Ivy League Championships twice in my four years, those spring seasons actually lasted until mid-May for the NCAA regionals.

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In the fall, our team’s first tournament usually takes place between mid-to-late August – our exact tournament schedule varies year by year depending on the coach’s choice. Regardless, our team normally has to move back into the college dorms several weeks before the academic school year starts so that we can train and prep for competitive play. This is a similar case for many other college athletes who compete in the fall.

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Fast forward a few months into the spring season, and the Northeast always remains quite cold through May. So, for those of us in colder climates, starting in February means that we often compete in tournaments hosted in warmer places, like Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina. It was always nice to see the sun and get more tanned after so many months stuck in the snow, but this also translated to more days and longer travels away from school: more airports, time differences, delays, and missed classes.

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The Practice, Qualifiers, and Tournament Travels

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During the competitive seasons, our team would be at the golf course 6 out of 7 days a week, barring our Mondays off. Princeton is lucky to have our golf course close to campus; instead of commuting between school and a far-away golf course, which can take up precious hours of our day and which many players at other colleges have to deal with, ours is just a quick 15-minute stroll away from the dorms.

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A typical in-season week consisted of mandatory 6:30 AM workouts two to three times – regardless of the weather – alongside normal practice (driving range, on course, short game, etc.) from Tuesday through Thursday. While the gym sessions were always supervised by two trainers, these three specific days of golf practice were normally athlete-driven, so it was up to each of us to decide what we wanted to work on, and for how long. The exact time that we showed up to these practices was also dependent on our class schedules – those who ended early could walk over first; those who ended later in the afternoon or had other non-golf commitments would then join afterward. Either way, the coach would be at the golf course from 3 PM onwards until sunset. If we wanted, we also had the option to practice in the mornings before classes started. Of course, this is the way our coach and team had it set-up, and other teams would likely have their own unique practice schedules, demands, and requirements.

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If we had a tournament over the weekend, the traveling team – 5 chosen players, sometimes with 1 or 2 more who would compete as individuals – would typically leave on Thursday night or Friday morning, depending on how far away the tournament site was. The aim was to get our practice round in on Friday so that we would be ready for competition on Saturday (36 holes) and Sunday (18 holes). Oftentimes, schools would travel back right after the tournament ends on Sunday, either arriving back to campus later that night or getting back on Monday.

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If we didn’t have a tournament on the weekends, then our team’s Fridays and the weekend were reserved for qualifying – to determine the 5 players for the next tournament. The exact qualifying formats and conditions vary from college team to college team; however, ours was that the top 2 players from the last tournament would automatically qualify for the next, and the other 3 spots would remain up for grabs. If we were competing in back-to-back tournaments two weekends in a row, then a qualifier might take place on Thursday at our home course – either 9 holes, 18 holes, or some other format – for those 3 remaining spots.

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While this grind slows down during the off-season, it does not stop. When I was in school, our morning workouts continued to start at the crack of dawn between November to February, and afternoon indoor practices still happened after our classes. There wasn’t much room for anything else, but it was this type of commitment and scheduling that taught me the value of hard work and discipline.

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The Sacrifices and Trade-offs: Academically and Socially

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Balancing a rigorous year-round athletics schedule alongside academics and a social life was a constant juggling act. There were many times when our team had to make compromises and tough choices. The school’s lawnparties with my favorite pop star performing? Missed it because of a weekend qualifier, and we had to listen to her live music from the golf course. That exciting new elective class I wanted to take? Couldn't fit it into my schedule because it was always on a Friday, which meant we’d be off traveling, and too many missed classes would likely result in an angry professor and a poor grade.

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Choosing classes also became an art form. It was about finding those that fit best around my golf schedule while still keeping me academically excited and on track for my major. Early morning lectures, late-night study sessions, weekend post-round team homework sessions in the hotel lobby, and squeezing in any minutes we had on the bus or planes back to campus became the norm. It was certainly challenging and required a good sense of time management and set priorities, but the sense of accomplishment when I managed to pull off a good grade while keeping up my golf performance was unparalleled.

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Social life as a college athlete is also different from what you might expect. Our team had to miss out on big events and activities, but the time spent together also allowed us to build deeper connections with each other and other fellow athletes who went through the same struggles and triumphs. We formed a tight-knit community where we supported and pushed each other to be better – both on and off the course, track, field, court, and more.

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The Final Thoughts

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Looking back, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. 

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I got to be part of a team – a feeling I was not exposed to as a junior – where we cheered, clapped, and picked one another up. We collectively played for the college badge on the front of our shirts, and not just for ourselves and our names individually. 

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Being a full-time student-athlete also offered me incredible opportunities: I got to travel to different states for tournaments, build lifelong friendships, and learn true resilience, time management, and the importance of mental toughness.

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For those who love the game and are willing to put in the effort, collegiate golf is an incredibly rewarding journey. The balance between work and play, the highs and lows, and the endless pursuit of improvement are all part of what makes those years so special. If you’re considering the path of being a college athlete, know that it’s going to be a lot of work. But also know that the fulfillment, growth, experiences, and amazing life lessons that come with it are worth every bit of the effort.

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Written by Crimson Strategist, Tiana Lau

Princeton University Class of 2018 and Former Hong Kong National Team Golfer

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